


The Cat's Out Of The Pocket

by sheepins



Category: Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective
Genre: Gen, Ghost Swap 2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-12
Updated: 2020-01-12
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:33:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22084192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sheepins/pseuds/sheepins
Summary: "Is that Sissel?" Lynne kept a hushed voice, trying not to draw the attention of the other officers at the scene. "Why would you bring your cat to an active crime scene?"With the cat already literally out of the bag, or pocket in this case, Jowd knew it would be useless to feign total ignorance.-Written for Ghost Swap 2019!
Comments: 10
Kudos: 61





	The Cat's Out Of The Pocket

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Yunalystelle](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yunalystelle/gifts).



> Whew! Happy Ghost Swap! (Is that a thing people say?) 
> 
> I decided to blend together two prompts - I hope you like it!
> 
> Prompt #1- Jowd bringing Sissel along on detective stuff, or even just Sissel putting up with Jowd being an insufferable cat dad in general.
> 
> Prompt #2 - Lynne and Sissel post-game, interacting or just being together in general.

_ "Well?" Detective Jowd asked when Sissel returned to report in, easily slipping into that familiar red space inside his mind, and coming face-to-face with the black kitten. _

_ "I'm sorry detective Jowd, but this guy doesn't have a core of the dead. Looks like there isn't anything I can do to help him now." _

_ "Darn. The coroner said he looked like he had been dead for less than a day, but we must have just missed the 24 hour mark." Detective Jowd mused, before letting out all his tension with a sigh - Not that breath was a needed thing in the ghost world. "If there's nothing we can do to avert his fate, then that's just how it goes. I suppose there's nothing more for you to do here." _

_ "You've sure given up easily." _

_ "Is there any reason I shouldn't? You've pulled off some miraculous things before, but you can't save everyone, I guess!" _

_ "You're right, I can't save him. But we can still find out who killed him and get him some justice. So please, let me stay and help investigate." _

_ "Well said!" Detective Jowd let out a hearty chuckle, which trailed off as he noticed the cat's ear flicker slightly at the sound. "The force could use more people like you, Sissel. If only you could join us as a more official member of the detective division." _

_ "Uh, but it’s not like I could-” _

_ "I know. Let me know if you get stuck on one side of the room and want to move around." _

Sissel closed the connection between them after a prompt nod, and began to move through different objects in the room. Following the ghost world paths from his body, he moved into a cupboard, swung the door to let him reach a potted plant, then stretched up to a TV remote sitting on the arm of the sofa, which led him up towards the window above the potted plant. Something outside had caught his eye, but it didn’t seem like there were any cores that could help him investigate.

  
  


He returned to his body’s resting place in Detective Jowd’s pocket, and reached out to his core.  _ "There's something I wanted to check out on the other side of the window, but there aren’t any cores that I can follow through with. There’s something caught in there too, but whatever it is, it’s light, and it’ll probably fly away easily.” Sissel thought for a moment, keeping the room glowing red. "I may need to sneak outside with my body." _

_"Got it." Jowd replied._ _"We'll have to be quick and quiet about it to not to let any of the other officers see you. Be careful out there.”_

"Uh, Detective Jowd, isn't it a little cold outside to be opening the window?" Lynne asked as the wintry air began to creep into the room, distracting her from the preliminary case file she was reading.

The detective let out a short laugh to disguise his nerves. "There's nothing like a cool breeze to help clear the mind! Isn't that what they say?" 

Lynne paused before returning a cheerful smile towards her mentor. "... I guess you're right!"

_ "I can't believe she bought that."  _

_ "You know, you should probably be more careful with what you say. For better or worse, Lynne always listens to what you say." Truth be told, Sissel was surprised too - although it just like Lynne to react in ways nobody expected. " We don't want her catching a cold because she was trying to be more like her hero." _

Sissel slipped out of the window quickly, before returning a moment later, attempting to get Jowd’s attention so that he could sneak back into his coat’s pocket without being detected -- unfortunately, it seems like fate had a different plan.

"Is that Sissel?" Lynne kept a hushed voice, trying not to draw the attention of the other officers at the scene. "Why would you bring your cat to an active crime scene?"

With the cat already literally out of the bag, or pocket in this case, Jowd knew it would be useless to feign total ignorance.

"Well… Kamila wanted me to take care of him for a while, but then he fell asleep in my pocket, and I forgot he was there. It happens more than you'd think, really!" A perfectly rehearsed excuse.

Lynne's eyebrows raised in surprise, but she wasted no time in asking more questions. "Wow… How do you just forget he's there? Doesn't he make any noise at all?"

"Not really. You may have already noticed, but he's very well behaved. And he's just so cute when he's asleep!” He picked up Sissel with one hand, from where he sat and watched the conversation take place just outside the windowsill, and placed him back inside his pocket. “Although he does sleep quite a lot! There are many times when I’ve woken up and he’s taken to curling up in my beard. It’s cute, but not at all convenient when I want to move around.”

_ "Feeling a little sentimental tonight, Jowd?" _

_ "I'm just hoping to distract her from her original question. But I'll happily take any chance I can get to embarrass you." _

“But… didn’t you notice that he climbed out of your pocket when he woke up and started moving around?”

Jowd paused for a moment, trying to think of an excuse that didn’t lead to Jowd giving away any indicators that Sissel may not have been as perfectly alive and healthy as they made it seem. “I’ve been trying to focus so hard on this case, I guess I must have been distracted.”

Lynne looked back over the room one more time, clenching her fist close to her chest as she often did out of habit. “Yeah… this case is kind of a tough one, isn’t it? It’s still early, so we don’t have all of the facts worked out yet, but it doesn’t seem like there would be much to look into anyway.”

“Hm.” Jowd turned his gaze over to the outline on the floor where the victim’s body was found. “That reminds me of a conversation I had with a friend earlier tonight. He told me that even if it seems like there’s nothing we can do, all we can do is try to find bring a little more justice into the world. We can't always go around saving people."

_ “I have to say, you really do have a way with butchering other people’s words.” Sissel pointed out with a sharp flick of his tail. _

_ “Eh. Live with it.” Jowd chuckled with a shrug. _

_ The ghost of the cat opened his mouth as if to protest, before deciding to ignore the comment and get back to the conversation at hand. _

“Did Inspector Cabanela really say that? For some reason, I just can’t imagine him being so… profound.” Lynne's clenched fist raised up to rest over her chin in thought.

“No, it wasn’t Cabanela who said that. It was someone else. I think I may have introduced you once before, but I’m not sure you’d remember him too well.” Jowd wasn’t always the best at dodging questions, but he certainly didn’t want to lie to her, in case her curiosity happened to beget more questions. 

It was true that curiosity could kill a cat and that satisfaction could bring it back again, but it was easier to avoid the whole thing entirely. Less mess to clean up in the end, Jowd thought, and he did hate to clean up.

“ _ Subtle.” _

“Then you’ll just have to introduce me again someday!” The rookie detective had no idea what she was asking for, and for all intents and purposes, Jowd and his cat wanted things to stay that way.

_ “I’m sure I’ll be able to talk to her again one day, but let’s not encourage her to do anything too drastic.” Sissel noted as began to clean one of his paws. "If she dies, I'm the one that has to fix it, after all." _

  
  
  


Lynne turned her attention back towards the coat pocket that Sissel was currently residing in, and mentally noted that he didn’t seem to be moving at all. No wonder she never noticed anything before - that kitten was a master of stealth.

"Oh, I've been meaning to ask you as well, but did you ever find out why he hasn't grown up at all?" In truth, it had been on Lynne’s mind for the few days since her ‘birthday’ party, when she had first met the feline.

"Feline dwarfism. Er, that's the best answer a veterinarian could give us, at least. But it’s nothing to worry about - he seems perfectly happy the way he is, and it’s unlikely he’ll have any health problems later on.” Of course, they never actually visited a veterinarian, but Jowd was glad to know that his time spent researching cats to keep up appearances wasn’t entirely for nothing. 

“... Can I pet him?”

“Sissel, what do you think? Can Lynne give you a little scratch on the head?”

The black kitten’s head popped out of the coat pocket, gently purring at the chance to interact with Lynne, however limited their contact may be. “I think he likes me!”

“I think he  _ really _ likes you!”


End file.
